Should you exercise when sick? Is exercise or rest the best medicine?

Should you exercise when sick?

Characteristics of our innate natural immunity

• physical structure barriers like mucous lining in nasal passage
• chemical barriers like stomach acid
• protective cells like our natural killer (NK) cells, white blood cells that can destroy harmful invaders

Characteristics of our adaptive immunity

• specialized white blood cells have a kind of memory , they recognize a specific pathogen and mobilize more effectively to fight it
• acquired immune response is the basis for vaccinations. Subject your body to a tiny dose of a pathogen, and it will know what to do when confronted with a bigger dose.

How exercise affects the immune system

• brief vigorous exercise doesn't cause immune suppressing effect
• moderate intensity exercise session up to an hour can boost immunity
• prolonged vigorous exercise session of over 2 hours depresses the adaptive immune system
• chronic resistance training stimulates innate immunity
• chronic moderate exercise strengthens adaptive immunity
• being sedentary or exercising too much can lower immunity, while moderate intensity training can improve immunity

Other factors affecting immunity are

Should you work out when you're sick

• you won't be able to train hard enough to be beneficial
• you'll spread whatever you have to everyone in the gym
• your body needs as much energy as possible to recover quickly
• you won't lose much progress if you miss a few days
• it's better to recover faster and get back to training hard

but.. you can if

• you don't have a fever
• you can exercise at home or can keep a distance from other people
• your symptoms are localized only in your head not throat, chest or body
• you stay well hydrated and sleep enough

What you should do

• stay moderately active most days of the week
• if you participate in high-intensity workouts, make sure you're getting enough rest and recovery time
• manage extreme variations in stress levels, get plenty of sleep and wash your hands

• consider all the stress you're managing in your life
• with a cold or sore throat without a fever or body aches, easy exercise is fine as tolerated. You probably don't want to do anything vigorous no matter how long in duration
• if you have a systemic illness with fever, elevated heart rate, fatigue, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle and joint pain or weakness, and enlarged lymph nodes, get some rest! If you have a serious virus and you exercise, it can cause problems.

Guidelines for exercising when sick

Tips for exercising when sick

• exercise at home to avoid spreading germs
• if you do hit the gym, wash your hands and keep your distance
• try lower weight and more reps
• try a light elliptical workout for 20-30 minutes
• reduce the intensity and duration of your workout
• stay hydrated
• do NOT do vigorous intense workouts
• do NOT exercise for a longer than your normal routine
• do NOT exercise with a fever

Tips for people aching to go back to training

• start with indoor workouts so it's easy to stop and rest when needed
• gradually increase the frequency of workouts
• following with increasing the duration of individual training sessions
• the final step is to up the intensity of the workout
• each athlete is different so the time will vary for each individual regarding a full return to training

Tips from a pro triathlon trainer to plan your comeback

Depending on the severity of the illness, be symptom-free for 24-48 hours. Initial training after that should be easy, aerobic, and short in duration. Think of the first two to three days as opening up the body to get it moving. Like warming up an engine.

This testing period not only ensures you are truly over the illness, but it also prevents injury.
If you still feel major symptoms, intensity out of the gate can set you right back.
And if you’ve missed four to five days of training, your muscles may be rested, so a hard effort on day one can create a lot of soreness, risking injury and setting training back even longer.

After the test days, if you are feeling pretty good and you want to get back into your preplanned training routine, temper the planned interval sessions by taking them down a training zone while making the recovery portion slightly more active.

If you have missed two to five days of training, don’t panic. Your fitness has not significantly changed. If you are getting close to race season, you may look at rescheduling some of the key sessions that were missed. This is where it’s helpful to sit with your coach and tinker with your upcoming two weeks of training.

If you have missed six to 14 days of training, you may have to look at your overall progression and take a step back within the training progression (mesocycle). Hit rewind for one to two weeks prior to the onset of the illness (the longer you are out, the longer you hit rewind).
Replicate the general framework of training you did prior to getting sick before progressing to the next planned step of your training schedule.

If you have a big race coming up, that can be a tougher call. Assuming you don’t have flu, fever, or chronic coughing or bronchitis, you could consider a very short tempo “tester” effort the day before the race, to see if your body is ready. Race pacing strategy should be more conservative as well. Think of a building effort. And note that your risk of getting sick after the event is quite high. You should always consult your doctor before considering racing.

While getting sick is never fun, you can take pride in being as professional as possible in returning to action without causing further setbacks. Follow these basic guidelines to minimize risk and reduce loss of fitness.

Final remarks

We hope you will be able to take advantage of the tips above.
Don't underestimate the severity of illness when it comes with a fever. Also, when addicted to sports, be considerate of others when you are a member of a gym: don't spread the germs by keeping your distance! In contrast to what many say, disinfection isn't as important as trying to cough or sneeze into your elbow or covering up your mouth and nose with a handkerchief.